In the Absence of Fire
by NaturallyDark
Summary: A rewrite of 'Battle Scars.' She loved Pokémon very much. Especially SoulSilver. It's funny how a single hack can change everything. And this morning, blood with be drawn. A Pokemon CreepyPasta.


**Alright. First things first.**

**I was looking at some of my older fics (what older fics, Dark?) when I stumbled across 'Battle Scars,' a story that was supposed to be a creepypasta. After laughing at myself, I resolved to rewrite it, even if it does completely go against my current fanfiction, 'Embers of the Past.' **

**Yes, it's based on my own playthrough of the game.**

**No, I didn't have the heart to change any of the names. XD Flame meant a lot to me in SoulSilver, and to either rename her or Julia (What? What are you talking about? My name's not Julia! Pfft!) would be to mentally destroy the story I've imagined, and I can't do that.**

**Anyways, enjoy 'In the Absence of Fire!' As usual, critiques and suggestions are greatly appreciated!**

* * *

I never meant for this to happen.

It was only once...I promise...

I'd promised that I would never use the Action Replay, not on SoulSilver. I used it all I wanted on Diamond, sure, and I used it to get shiny Victinis on Black and Black two - I guess that was not a good thing for me to do - but that was because those games meant nothing to me. To me, they were just pixels and text boxes and battle music.

Not like SoulSilver. SoulSilver was where my childhood was. It was where my memories were. It was where Flame was.

The third game that I ever owned, SoulSilver had seemed like the most amazing thing ever to have been produced by the Pokémon company. Unlike Diamond or Pearl, my Pokémon followed behind me, rolling in the grass when talked to or giving me a hug. The feeling I got from SoulSilver was one of sheer happiness and bliss, a feeling I would experience every morning at 5:04 sharp as I squinted at my DS under the covers with the volume at minimum, battling or playing at the Pokéathlon. During the day, my PokéWalker stayed in my pocket so that Flame would always be with me.

Flame...She was my Typhlosion, my beloved partner. The same Pokémon I received at the very start of the game, the one that showered me with the most adoration when I talked to her. How could I ever have forgotten her? How did I become so blind? How could she do this to me?

This morning, I wake up earlier, at four. It has been over a month since I first challenged Red, and despite my trying everything, he remains undefeated. I have a plan, a clever idea, for beating him. I am still new to the concept of strategies and effort values remain an unsolved mystery, so my idea is to find the best Pokémon to take on his team. I caught them, all shiny, on Diamond with the assistance of my Action Replay, and yet they are still not good enough. Am I choosing the wrong ones? Do they need to be at a higher level? Something was wrong with my selections, and I have given up. I decided to try something else.

Flame has not been in my party for nearly three weeks.

I blow into the Action Replay card and put my familiar game, with its scratched and faded label, inside the slot. The AR clicks into my DS and I slide the power on. The harsh white glow from the screens blinks on, but no text appears. A common problem, easily solved. The power is turned back off, the DS's card slot is blown into, and I try again. Fortunately, it works.

On the screen of the Action Replay, I enable only one of the codes: Instant One-Hit K.O. Without bothering to read its additional instructions, I boot up the game. Familiar music plays as the three-dimensional image of Lugia swims through the bottom screen. Fighting back a smile of nostalgia, I press A. There's my save file, with its two hundred something hours of playing time, and I select it. An unexpected message appears.

"Error: A corruption error has occurred. The safe file - "

The message is frozen. I've pulled out the game card, staring at the screen in terror. This was what I was afraid of. The game, corrupted. Just because I wanted to beat Red easily I let my game become corrupted.

No. My game is safe. I saved it by pulling out the game card. The corruption won't save.

I take out the Action Replay and put SoulSilver in the DS directly and try again. The game starts as it normally does. There is no error message. I am in Saffron city, an Electabuzz following me.

It is nighttime. Perhaps it is still night because I woke up earlier today. Maybe it changes to day at five o'clock.

For some reason, the streetlamps are not lit, the windows of houses left grey and dark. Something about that seems odd. I distinctly recall, from the few times I have played SoulSilver at night, the lights being on. Once again, I decide to pin the blame on the time of day.

Flame is not in my party.

I run towards the Fighting Dojo, where I have 'saved' the Gym Leaders for rebattling later. Electabuzz trails behind, moving at a slower pace than me. A frown crosses my face and I stop running. He warps to the square behind me. Or did I only imagine that?

I turn myself around and press A to talk to him. There is no response, or at least, I think there is no response, until I try to move and realize that he is just taking a long time to answer. Finally, a sad emoticon appears over his head in a speech bubble.

"Electabuzz is scared. It is tugging at your sleeve and whimpering."

That can't be right. I go to check his summary screen. An unpleasant surprise awaits me. All of my Pokémon are simultaneously Frozen and Knocked Out. The overwhelming urge to slide the power back off nearly overpowers me, but I am curious. All that I have to do, if what is already bad becomes worse, is turn off the power, so I decide to continue.

Despite being Knocked Out, Electabuzz continues to follow me, albeit slowly and lagging, like before. At last moment, I change directions and head back towards the Pokémon Centre. I feel bad leaving my Pokémon in their current state, even if they were artificially created for the sole purpose of battle by the Action Replay.

A chill runs through me when I enter the Centre. It seems that all of the lights are off, for it is as dark inside as it is outside. Nurse Joy takes all my Pokémon, as usual, sending me off with a, "We hope to see you again!" Just in case, I check my party. They are not healed.

My finger moves to turn off the power. Not yet, I tell it. There's still something I want to see.

I log into the PC to see all of my Pokémon.

I freeze.

There are no Pokémon.

There is something else there instead.

Many of them, occupying the spots that had belonged to my Pokémon.

Eggs.

Refusing to panic, I scroll through the boxes. Not one Pokémon is spared. All have become Eggs. The round white shapes with pale green dots are everywhere. They fill the boxes. They fill my mind.

Suddenly, I see her. In the middle of my seventeenth box, she sits. Patiently. Waiting.

Flame. My reason for loving SoulSilver. She is safe. That is all that I want to know. I exchange one of my party Pokémon for her, leaving my Magcargo, Electabuzz, Lucario, Tropius, and Flygon in my party. Flame I put at the front. I want to be able to talk to her. I want her to cuddle up to me, or dance in happiness.

I exit from the PC. The Pokémon Centre is gone. My sprite is left in the middle of a dark void.

This is when I panic. The D-Pad doesn't work. I am frozen, unable to move. I am mashing all of my buttons when a text box appears, bearing the message, "..."

I press A.

"... ... ... Don't you love me?"

A.

"Why did you abandon me? I thought we were friends."

A.

"Don't I mean anything to you?"

An option for Yes or No appears. What is happening? Who is speaking to me?!

Then I realize. The one I neglected. The one I adored above all others. Flame.

Sweat collects on the palms of my hands and I cannot stop trembling. I have no doubt that it is Flame. But how is she able to say that to me?

Of course. The Action Replay. It corrupted my game somehow, and now Flame is talking to me. I don't know whether to feel delighted or terrified. So I select 'Yes' and press A.

"..."

The screen whites out, blinding me momentarily. Once it darkens again and I rub my eyes with a hand, I can see a new location. I stand in a flower field, not unlike Flower Paradise in Diamond, with Flame's sprite beside me. I talk to her.

A heart appears over her head in a speech bubble and I hear her battle cry. "Flame is overjoyed to be with Julia!" the blue-framed text box tells me. A message I have never seen before. What is happening?

I check my team roster, feeling anxious, and am pleasantly surprised to see that all of my Pokémon are in perfect health. I go through their individual summary screens, and besides a slightly lowered pitch of their cries, they are completely normal.

When I exit back to the overworld, something has changed. I can't tell for a few moments, but as I walk around, I notice that the once-pink flowers are darker in colour, almost red now. Why would the flowers change colour? I talk to Flame again. A frowning emoticon appears and her cry is significantly lowered in pitch.

"Flame wants Julia to itself." My finger slips and I accidentally press A again.

"Flame is looking at Magcargo in disdain."

I don't like that. It sounds like foreshadowing. Before checking my party again, I wipe my palms on the bedsheets. I have begun sweating more, so I pull away my blankets and sit upright with my legs over the edge of my bed.

My Pokémon are fine, all with green health bars. But Magcargo has a small, hardly noticeable sliver of Hit Points missing. That isn't a great concern, but I feel uneasy. Upon exiting out, I find that the meadow has changed again.

The flowers' petals are now a deep shade of red. The grass has red dots of varying sizes in random areas. The flowers have stopped dancing in the wind. Flame's paws are red. I look at my party.

Magcargo is missing.

A gasp escapes my lips and I talk to Flame again. Dread fills me. My dear little Flame, my sweet little Flame... She wouldn't do something like this. My thinking must be wrong, my horrible idea far-fetched...

A smile emoticon over her head and a happy cry.

"Flame is happy that she can have Julia to herself!"

I slam shut the DS and pull out the game card. I throw SoulSilver across the room and it hits the wall, bouncing off onto the carpet. Setting my DS down on the ground shakily, I lay back down in my bed and pull my covers up to my neck. I can't sleep. Not with the bloodied flower field and Flame's message burned into my eyes. I only can lay shaking for a few minutes before I pick up my DS again. The flower field is still there, the text box frozen in place. But the text box is blank.

SSKKKRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

The screech blasts through the speakers at a volume I know the DS isn't capable of and a face appears on the top screen.

It is a Typhlosion's face.

The eyes are unnaturally wide.

A crazed grin exposes a full row of sharp teeth.

Bloody teeth.

I scream. I scream until my lungs hurt and my throat is raw. Tears stream down my face and I break into sobs. All I see is the face fade into black. I can't let go of the DS. My right thumb frantically mashes A and I can't stop it. Rows of bolt red text appear on the top screen, flashing by too quickly to read.

"Why are you scared of - "

"I just want to hug - "

"Your other Pokémon are worth - "

"I am all that matters to - "

"Why don't you love - "

"I must free you from - "

"I can kill them - "

"Then we can be - "

"...Forever. Do you want me to do that?"

The Yes and No option appears but I hit A again and again and I can't prevent myself from pressing Yes.

Everything stops. I stare in horror at the screen then topple forwards onto the floor. I still cannot let go of the DS. I am transfixed.

"Why, Flame?" I manage to whisper weakly, my heart pounding in my throat.

"I have done it, Julia. Now I am the only one for you," says the text box. I press A numbly. "I knew that you loved me, Julia."

My parents, I suddenly realized. Hasn't my screaming woken them up? Where are they?! I sit up and grip the DS more firmly.

"My mom and dad!" I yell. "What happened to them?! What did you do?!" Flame replies in a text box.

"I am the only one for you, Julia. They would have been in the way. They could have come between us." I can't believe it. I can't believe that Flame did this. She isn't real. She is just pixels on a screen. I look at the SoulSilver game cartridge lying on the floor, a few metres from me. Now I believe it.

"Flame!" I scream, trying to crush the DS, to throw it away. "You monster! Give me back my parents, you sadistic bitch!" I have no sorrow left. My tears have run dry. My emotions have gone black. All I know is that I hate Flame from the bottom of my heart.

"Julia, why are you being so mean?"

"You said that you love - "

"I can't give your parents - "

"They are both - "

"I killed them with my own - "

"Listen to me, Julia - "

"Stop skipping what I - "

"Please stop right - "

"I don't want to have to - "

"I mean it. Please - "

"Stop it! Stop it - "

"STOP IT! I - "

"STOP STOP STOP - "

"STOPSTOPSTOPSTOP - "

"LISTEN TO ME!"

The screech blasts again, going on and not stopping until I stop mashing A. My fury hasn't subsided, but real terror begins to set in. What is Flame truly capable of on her own?

"...thank you, Julia."

A.

"Even though what you just did was very mean, I'm willing to give you a second chance."

A.

"How would you like it, anyways, if nobody listened to you?"

A.

"Since we are both mad at each other, how about we both forgive each other at the same time?" I narrow my eyes, glaring at the black screens and the single white text box. I still can't let go of the DS. It is as if my hands have become part of its black casing. I don't know for how long I've been holding it. I press A again.

"If you apologize first, maybe I will forgive you. Do you apologize for not letting me speak?"

I bring the DS closer to my face, my mouth nearly at the speaker.

"Fuck. You."

SKRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHEEEEEEEEHHHHHEEEEE!

Like a blasting siren, the DS screams at me, rising in volume until I can't bear it anymore. Something hot and wet slides down the sides of my face from my ears. I can smell blood.

"Even after I said I would forgive you, you still reject me?" The text boxes kept appearing even as the wail continued. I didn't press A but they kept coming, flashing across the screen.

"You are a miserable excuse for a Trainer."

"You won't listen to your Pokémon."

"I know that you loved me once, a long time ago."

"I still love you."

"But you reject my gift and love?"

"Let's see how you like it, then."

"You'll be on your own."

The next text appears in bold red letters and the volume and pitch of the screech rises sharply.

"Where nobody can hear you scream."

I scream. I scream in pain, in fury, in hatred, in agony. I can't take it anymore. I'm going crazy. I can't - it's everywhere - it hurts - HELP.

I hardly feel myself throw the DS. I only hear the loud smash as it shatters against the wall, then the sudden silence. My screams are nothing more than hoarse wails now and even those die eventually. I breathe hard, staring at the wall. The pieces of the DS lay across the floor.

Flame is no more.

I killed her.

It's over.

I wake up, who knows how much later. It is still dark. I can feel the dried blood that ran from my ears in two thick lines on either side of my face, pulling at my skin. I must have fallen over when I fell asleep. I sit up now, then look around.

It is too dark to make out any fine details, but I can see the pieces of my DS on the floor across the room from me. Beside it is the glinting silver game card that I had loved dearly only just that morning. Actually, what time is it? I can't tell.

I stand wearily and drag my feet over to my night table. The clock reads 5:04.

5:04. The time I get up to play SoulSilver.

Oh, no.

SoulSilver.

Flame.

My mom and dad.

I flee from my room blindly, nearly hitting the wall as I run out. I run down the hall then furiously twist the doorknob on their bedroom door. The door swings open.

Blood.

Blood everywhere.

The blankets are torn up and splattered with it.

The white carpet, soaked in it.

The walls, covered in dark paw prints.

My parent's bodies, slowly leaking it.

I drop to my knees, unable to even utter a whimper. She had really done it. She really killed them. Just so she could be with me.

Together, forever.

Just the two of us.

Zombielike, I turn and drag myself to my room, scratching my exposed knees along the rough carpet.

"Flame..." I whisper weakly. I struggle to stand and stumble towards the smashed DS. My hands work furiously to pick up the pieces, fit them back together.

"Flame, no! I - I didn't mean it! Please, come back!" Tears sputter down my face and I laugh, hopeful. If I can just put it back together, I can have her back - !

"FLAME!"

The DS doesn't fit together again. I snatch up SoulSilver, gripping it between my fingers.

"Flame, wake up! I'm begging you! You can have it the way you want!" I giggle again, then burst into loud laughter that tears at my throat. I keep crying furiously, my laughs broken by sobs. "We'll be together, just you and me!"

My knuckles turn white from holding the game so tightly. "Listen to me, Flame! I don't need anyone else! I just - "

SoulSilver cracks in two.

I stare at it for a long time, my head pounding. She's gone. Flame is gone. Or maybe she was never there. Maybe I dreamed her up.

I rise slowly, then shuffle towards the clock. It still reads 5:04. I lift it, then it slides from my hand. It drops with a small clunk to the floor.

"Flame...you're real, right?" I whisper, collapsing against the wall. My face is blank. I am nothing anymore. Nothing _is_, anymore. I just want to know if it ever was.

"You did do this to me, didn't you?"

My arms wrap around my knees and I rock slowly back and forth.

"I'm not crazy...right?"

I keep rocking.

"...right?"


End file.
